Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

From Boat To Beach: Using Drift Cards To Improve Our Knowledge Of Ocean Currents, Areas At Risk And Oil Spill Trajectories., Andrew Rosenberger, Alexandra Woodsworth, Ross Dixon

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

In October 2013, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Georgia Strait Alliance launched 1644 drift cards from 9 locations along the shipping route through the Salish Sea to Vancouver, British Columbia. Drift cards are 4x6” pieces of marine plywood painted bright yellow and numbered. Drift cards have historically been used to assess the way in which floating objects move in various contexts, including potential oil spills from underwater pipelines, marine park planning, sewage outflows and more. In this case, these drift cards were released in the context of Kinder Morgan’s plans to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline, which if approved would see …